Lovers

Linus Lauthers and Anders af Klintberg from Stockholm based pop duo Lovers spent two years trying to perfect their debut album, writing, recording, and producing everything themselves. The result is the highly personal Addicted to Drugs, recently released on a limited edition 12″ vinyl. We met with the duo to learn more about the long and winding road to their debut.

How would you describe your music?– As if Dr. Who did a cameo in Miami Vice. We make straight pop songs. Some people would maybe describe it like dream pop, but I think opium schlager is a better name for it. But it’s a lot of opium and less schlager, says Linus.

– The sound is tropical and full of kitschy nostalgia, Anders adds. It’s as if you’ve been in the sun for too long and your hangover is taking over. Even paradise has it’s flaws. It’s like you’re awake and asleep at the same time. Like a sunset on an old VHS-tape.

Like a sunset on an old VHS-tape

This album is all made by you, how do you feel about it?– It all started one autumn two years ago. We decided to make a whole record instead of sending out demos and wait for things to happen. The songs came easy to us, so did mixing and mastering, but the physical side of production was a different story. With the good and the bad sides of globalization in mind, we went with a record factory in Czech Republic instead of Hong Kong, and along came trouble.

– During the six months it took us to get our records, I guess almost everything that could go wrong went a-ringa-ding-ding. We ended up with a sales representative that didn’t care to reply. When she ended up being sacked, the Donau decided to flood and the factory had to close for two weeks. We realized that we weren’t gonna get the records in time for our release party. Anders acted straight away and bought a printer that could turn everything around and made great looking CDs.

– To sum things up, the record turned great. And great looking. But I must admit that we lost a little bit of flow with all the troubles in production, says Anders.

Lovers. Photo by Aron Pelcman.

Tell me about the name Addicted to Drugs.– Our thesis is that people live in abundance on many levels, where you can question the importance of the priorities people do when they reach the highest level of self realisation, Linus explains. The title is easy to associate with a glorification of drugs, but it’s more about the addictions that humans have in general. Some addictions are vital, such as food, sleep, and intimacy, but today people put their focus on superficialities, which create unhealthy addictions.

Anders explains it as a concept name, a metaphor for other addictions.

– Drugs are physical substances that are illegal and tabu. But we’re addicted to many other structures, such as power, class, and money, which aren’t illegal even though they can be just as dangerous. Power. Money. Love. Religion. Addictions of our lifetime. Addicted to Drugs tells a story of love that leave you with a hangover and the moods that follow. We all look for that first euphoric fix, a taste of paradise.

Lovers. Photo by Aron Pelcman.

What are your plans for the future?– We will play more live. It would be nice to visit Copenhagen.

– We’re also working on our greatest mindscape ever – the next release. But this time it won’t take us another two years to finish.

Listen to Lover’s debut Addicted to Drugs here and buy their vinyl here. Watch the video for their song Luxury here.